Watford vs Chelsea: Quique Sanchez Flores confirms Mario Suarez could debut at Vicarage Road

New Watford recruit Mario Suarez could make his debut for the club during their Premier League clash with Chelsea on 3 February. The defensive midfielder moved to Vicarage Road from Fiorentina in a deal worth approximately £4m ($5.7m) last weekend, becoming Quique Sanchez Flores' third signing of the January mercato following the additions of towering goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon and highly rated Malaga winger Nordin Amrabat.

Having previously coached the 28-year-old during his two-year stint in charge at Atletico Madrid, Flores has spoken effusively about Suarez's arrival in English football and claimed it was "amazing news" for Watford that their swift improvement over recent years meant that they were now in a position to attract such talented players.

While Suarez obviously arrived too late to be considered for the recent FA Cup fourth-round win over Nottingham Forest, his conditioning is not in question. The player had made 13 appearances in all competitions for La Viola this season and appears to be in contention for the visit of Chelsea after training with his new teammates. Loanee Nathan Ake, however, will be ineligible to face his parent club.

"Yes, he [Suarez] has trained with us for just three days but he's fit," Flores was quoted as saying by the Watford Observer at a pre-match press conference when asked if Suarez could make his first-team bow.

"He doesn't know at the moment how we play exactly but he knows me and I know this player. I think the adaptation time of top players is very quick."

Watford have been extremely productive in the transfer market since winning promotion from the Championship in 2014-15. The Hornets, who currently sit comfortably in mid-table with nine wins from their opening 23 matches, signed 16 players over the summer and were active once again on deadline day as they broke their club record to secure the £8m arrival of Rennes midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Venezuelan youth international Adalberto Penaranda also joined on a four-and-a-half year deal. Neither of those new arrivals will feature for Watford against Chelsea – or indeed for the rest of the season – having both been immediately loaned to Giampaolo Pozzo-owned Granada until May.